Silo charging and emptying machine



J- DICKSON SILO CHARGING AND EMPTYING MACHINE Aug. 18, 1953 Aug. 1s, 1953 J. DlcKsoN SILO CHARGING AND EMPTYING MACHINE.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 26, 1950 INVENTOR L/af//V /c/fsa/v Aug. 18; 1953 J. DlcKsoN 2,649,215

sILo CHARGING AND EMPTYING MACHINE Filed .June 2e, 195o 5 'Sheets-sheet s fig. 3.

INVENTO R L/aH/V /f/ffa/l/ ATTORN EY Patented Aug. 18, 1953 UNITED STATES ?ATENT John Dickson; Portland, Oreg.. assignor of 011ehalf to William J. Prendergast, Jr., Portland,

Oreg.

Application June 26, 1950, Serial No. 170,303

12 Claims. 1 This invention krelates to meehancalfmeans for charging and subsequently discharging silagev into-amdiout .of a 'very-large silo.

I'Silage one .of the ybest vfeeds for 'dairy cattle yet'lileveloped` and is widely used; butin the casefzot a large dairy, feedingA and milking several'hundred head'of cows, 'thenumber of silos necessary .to .feed them requires a fantastic investment isince they must be small enough for a workmanvto Ithrow silage from one side through thecustomary slot .Opened and closed by sectional closures in one side of a silo, limiting maximum practical diameter to `twenty feet.

Silage, stored under pressure in a silo, undergoes-an 'acid lfermentation in its transformation from ycutg-reen stuff .to-'succulent winter cattle feed, and tends 'to adhere together, which makes itdiiiiculttoiforkv across a large diameter silo or tankfand mechanical means of a satisfactory character has not yet "been aceptably devised; though-several things are the vsubject of earlier patents. None, it is'believed, proposed to be adaptable to originally pack the out green vegetation into lthe silo preparatory to making silage and then s by slight manipulation of controls when the v time for feeding-slage arrivesto diseharge'required amounts, evenly, through ya suitT able dischargepipe or chute. This broadly states ,the function ofV the lpresentinvention,A thel key strncturevof which is-a-revoluble metal well, mounted` axially in the silage tank,-wh ioh may bev sixty feetuor more in diameter and -ithi-rty-ve or more -feet'h-igh asto the slage tankproperywi-th snp'erposed operating Iequipment above the silo proper, and beneathv an adequate roof.

`It is the principal obiect of the present invention .to create such a silo, properly equipped, at anl-inyestnient juksied handsonflelyY by its effectiveness. l Other objects will be apparent from the'fdescription that follows, of the bestv form ofmthevinvention, and are dened in-the claims.

Drawings accompany and form a part of this disclosure, in which:

Fig, l is a schematic arrangement of a foreshortened silo, showing the essentialso the invention,V lpartially Ain sectional elevation, to be supplemented byvv other' views f lig.V 2 4is asectional elevation at larger scale, taken o n-the plane 2-'2 of Fig. 1;

3 `-is-a VView taken on the plane 31-:3 of Fig. l 2, partially sectioned; o

liigffi is an enlarged view taken .on the plane 444. Fig.v 1, showing .the sweep conveyor carried bythe revolving Well `i; and

fief-is asection 'taken 0n the. 'plane 1575, Fig. 4.

Describing the drawings in greater detail: A S comprising a foundation Si, cylindrical wall structure S2 and roof S3. ,contains an axially positioned revolving Well 4, `Carried by lower bearings 5, upper bearings 6, driven through a bevel :gear .i by a pinion 8,. properly therewith' and seleotively orerableby motor il. through suitable reducing ,gear 10, Since 11,1 a ,large Si-1o the revolution ofthe Weil i will of necessity be quite 510W asl-Will be geen rSecurely clamped tothe woll counterbalanced sweep beam Il, carrying a ycounter-,- balance weight i2 at one -end and,supportingr a Sweep Conveyor ii by the extension ofthe op posi-te end, being secured .to the revolving well'lll, by suitable clamp structure M, and clamp bolts i5 and i6. l

'The well 4 is proydedwith ,a vertical ,Slot `l] that extends from a short'distance above .the bottom (see Fig;l 2h) to a point just beneath "the lower side of the clamp L4. 'A sweep conveyor il?. is suspended beneaththe y'sweep beam 'Il at the end opposite the counterwei'ght l2 by ho ng ropes ri8 and 1.9, controllable by 'rope' win 'ng dru`ms`2o and 2l, mounted on a `co,minion':shaft 22, and operable' at proper speed a" selec ive direction of rotation by the gear-motor se, i211 throughthe gear' 2 il? 'by suitable wiring' not shown as ySuh wiring circuits are Well-known..

The sweep .conveyor l'3 F.carries asnitab'ly mounted conveyor be`lt'23 vwith attachedflights 2.4. The inner vend of thev sweep conveyorl slides vertically, in registration withlthe slot "l1, within which it is interengaged'for veri-.leal engl ing movement as shown-"at '25. lit'is named a sweep conveyor for thereasonl that its rigidity projecting flights will convey material while"mov mein either direction, or rake when moviedonly bi the boomv Within 'the well' :4; is a liftineonveyor' 12S. 'in the form .of a belt 2l, uponwhioh numerous buckets' 28. ofgrroper form.' are mounted-io turn over drums v9 and` 30 at thesboitonr'andtop'respectivelyof theconveyor frame 13.1. Theionveyor'beltwth'SightS, or buckets asthey are often called, is operated by the gear-motorset 32, by suitable drive 4meanafhere shown as: a sprocket and 'ch-'ain drive, comprising arlrve sprocket 373/, i .operatiligA a chain 34, with 'driven sypro'clnet 35, forthe lift conveyor "26, and with another drive Asprocketon the same shaft immediately behind drive `sprocket 33y thatoperates chain 3.6 and drives Ythe cross conveyor 3l. v'Sila-ge Iliftedloy lift conveyor26,'is'transferred by transfer plate 38, to the upper reachofthe"crossv con veyor 31, which runs towards the left '(Fig: l)

and carries silage to. its end, the operation of which is hereinafter explained. The lower reach of cross conveyor 31, is partially enclosed in the closed conveyor box 39 to its open end 40.

I must now explain the mode of operation, which depends entirely upon a peculiar quality of cut ensilage, especially when it is green, of having no flow characteristic of any considerable amount; that is, when an opening, like the slot in the well 4, is of moderate width, as in this case it will be, and green silage is stacked in the silo to a depth of thirty feet or more, a very little of it will fall through the slot into the well; taking advantage of this fortuitous state of affairs, silage usually from a cutter or it may of course be from a dump truck, is fed to the receiving hopper conveyor means mounted within said well elective to deliver silage received through said slot to adelivery device outside of said tank.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 2, in-

' cluding means for delivering silage to fill the silo 4i and is lifted by a suitable lifting conveyor G2 which is not detailed as such lifter conveyors are well known) and dumped into the receiving hopper where it falls onto the slide gate 44, shown closed and with its inner end 45 matching the left hand end of the conveyor box 39, where it falls into influence of the cross conveyor 3l, is carried to the end of the conveyor box 39 and falls into the silo S2 without hindrance.

This operation continues indefinitely until the silo is completely lled. As the material starts to pile up, the motor gear sets 9-I0 is started, revolving the well 4 and with it the sweep beam I I, with the sweep conveyor I3; and note that under these conditions the conveyor belt 23 will not be operating. The opposite end of the beam I I may, if desirable, carry sweeping means suitable for supplementing the distribution of the silage carried on by the revolving beam, depending upon the rapidity of supplying silage to fill the silo. During this process, some silage will inevitably fall through the slot I'I into the well 4, and be promptly returned to the slide gate 44, and the conveyor that brought it had to operate anyway.

When it is desired to discharge the silage from the silo in normal feeding operations of the stock which it supplies, the slide gate 44 is pulled wide open and at such seasons the receiving hopper 43 will be closed storm proof by suitable means not shown.

The sweep conveyor I3, with its flights 24, will be operated selectively by the gear motor set 46 while the well is slowly revolved by the motor gear set 9-I0 to gather silage with f-air equality from the top surface of silage within the silo, deliver it to the lifting conveyor through the slot into the well 4 Vfrom which the lifting conveyor and the cross conveyors deliver the material to delivery chute 4l, which for the purposes stated is considered complete.

I claim:

1. Filling and emptying means for cylindrical tank silo structures, comprising a tubular metal well rotatively mounted axially within said tank, said well formed with a continuous delivery slot longitudinally in one side thereof from top to bottom of the working length thereof, a non-revolving conveyor truss mounted coaxially within said tube, a double reach conveyor belt on said truss, a movable conveyor boom slidably attached to said tubular metal well, being mounted to traverse said delivery slot longitudinally and to revolve with said well, an independent conveyor mounted on said boom, radially with respect to said tank, motor means for selectively driving said last named conveyor when discharging silage from the tank to move tank contents through said slot to deliver the same to said rst named Conveyor.

by'a partial use of said last named conveyor and said boom to sweep the delivered contents to substantially level lling within the tank.

4. A tank silo with lling and emptying means, comprising a vertical cylindrical silo tank, an axial well of metal revolubly mounted within said tank, a continuous vertical discharge slot provided in the perimeter of said well, a sliding shoe member movable lengthwise oversaid slot, a conveyor boom carried as to its inside endby said shoe, other means supporting said boom substantially normal to said well, a conveyor nonrevolubly mounted within said well and an. independent sweep conveyor mounted beneath said boom with downwardly projecting arms independently operable to deliver silage from storage in the silo, through said slot to said first named conveyor. Y

5. A tank silo having in combination therewith a revoluble metal well member axially positioned within said silo, means for revolving said well,A

a conveyor within said well, a continuous vertical silage discharge slot providedv inthe perim-Y eter of the well, sweep conveyor means for dis-Y charging silo contents into said well through said slot and conveyor means partially positioned within said well, effective to take silage from said well and convey it to a delivery point externally of the tank. f

6. A tank silo having in combination therewith a centrally positioned revoluble metal well.

member, said well provided with a vertical through slotted opening in one side of its perimeter, a boom mounted slid-ably on said well, to.

traverse said slot from top to bottom, selectively,

while projecting therefrom radially, a selectively,

operable sweep conveyor carried by said boom effective to deliver silage rinto said well through said slot, and conveying means operably mounted within said well effective to convey delivered silage to a point outside of said tank.

'7. The combination as claimed in claim 6 distinguished by the conveyor carried by said boom being in part composed of downwardly projecting flights effective to level-rake the top of fresh cut silage material, when the boom is revolved with the Well during silage storing operations, the conveyor being at rest.

8. A silage storage tank having charging and discharging apparatus including an axially mounted revoluble well member, means forrevolving said well member, a lifting conveyor operably mounted within s'aid well effective toV lift material out vof the upper end of the well, said Well member provided with a vertical slot throughout substantially its length that is within the tank and sweep conveying means mounted upon said well member to revolve therewith, effective to tear settled silage up from a mass of silage within said storage tank and deliver the same through said slot to said llifting conveyor,

9. A silo comprising a circular tank having large diameter and proportionate height containing filling and emptying means comprising an axially positioned revoluble metal well, said metal well provided with a continuous delivery slot from top to bottom of its storage space, a boom clamped to said Well above its storage space, a sweep conveyor suspended beneath said boom, being slidably joined to said well to register therewith to deliver contents to said well, said well containing a lifting conveyor, for discharging said silo by operating said sweep conveyor, said lifting conveyor, and revolving said Well concurrently.

10. The combination as claimed in claim 9 Wherewith is included a relatively fixed conveyor above the storage portion of said silo, reversely operable to fill the silo during one season of the year and by reversing to deliver silage from the top of the stored silage by being lifted from said well and delivered to said xed conveyor.

11. The combination claimed in claim 10 Wherewith is included in combination with the sweep conveyor an interengaging means slidably connecting it to the revoluble metal well in registration with the delivery slot at all positions within said silo.

12. A storage silo with means for intermittent delivery for feeding from the top of stored silage, comprising a cylindrical silo tank sealed at the bottom against atmosphere, a revoluble metal Well axially positioned therein, a lifting conveyor in said well, a bucket carrying belt forming a part of said lifting conveyor, other conveyor means positioned to receive the discharge of said lifting conveyor, said revoluble metal well being provided with a silage ingress slot throughout its effective length, said slot bounded on its vertical sides by interengaging means 4for the vertical sliding movement of a sweep conveyor, Asaid sweep conveyor interengaged with said ingress slot and selectively operable in either direction to control quantity delivered to the revoluble well, or as a sweep to level the contents of said silo.

JOHN DICKSON.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 750,241 Buck Jan. 19, 1904 772,911 Acklin Oct. 25, 1904 826,646 Blaisdell July 24, 1906 1,257,161 Walters et al. ;1 Feb. 19, 1918 FOREIGN PATENTS vNumber Country Date 38,820 France Apr. 27, 1931 566,325 Germany Dec. 15, 1932 

